Question:
What is the ruling if I forget to sit after the second rak`ah in my Zhuhr Prayer of Isha’ Prayer? How to correct my prayer?
Answer:
In the name of Allah, we praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright.
The first tashahhud (sitting after the second rak`ah) is wajib (mandatory) meaning it is an essential act of prayer and one should not miss it. However, the second tashahhud (the last tasleem in prayer), that is made after the last rak`ah, is a pillar of the prayer.
If someone missed the middle tashahhud and stood up for the third rak`ah, he should continue his prayer without coming back down to the sitting position to say the tashahhud. At the end of the prayer and after the last tashahhud (before making tasleem), one should perform sujud as-sahw (prostration of forgetfulness). Sujud As-Sahw consists of two prostrations before the final tasleem.
`Abdallah ibn Buhaina said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) led them in the noon prayer, and when he stood up at the end of the first two rak`ahs and did not sit, the people stood up along with him. When he finished the prayer and the people expected him to give the tasleem (salutation of peace ending the prayer), he said “Allahu Akbar” while sitting and made two prostrations before giving the tasleem. Then he gave it. (Agreed Upon)
In another hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “If the Imam stands up after the second rak`ah, and remembers that he has to sit, before he straightens himself (upright), then he should sit down, and if he straightened upright, he should not sit and make two prostrations of forgetfulness.” (Abu Dawud)
Watch this interesting talk with Sheikh Assem Al Hakeem to Know more about the Prostration of Forgetfulness.
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Source: Huda Youtube Channel.